Thinktank says algorithms are fuelling isolation and division after analysing posts shown to social media users

Reform UK voters are the least likely to see posts from friends and family on social media and most likely to see content from brands and news organisations, a study has found.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) thinktank said algorithms were fuelling isolation and division after its research analysing users’ feeds on Instagram, Facebook, X, Bluesky and TikTok found that only 13% of Reform UK voters saw content from someone they knew, compared with 23% of Green party voters.

Ministers urged to work with survivor groups on formal apology as many victims are nearing end of their lives

The UK government must urgently issue a formal apology for the state’s role in forced adoption as many victims are nearing the end of their lives, a cross-party group of MPs has said.

A report from the education select committee said ministers should provide an initial commitment to an apology and begin working with survivor groups as quickly as possible on its wording.

Researchers say lack of sleep could be a factor among young people interacting online for more than three hours a day

Children who are on social media for more than three hours a day are more likely to develop depression and anxiety as teenagers, according to research.

Experts said the impact was likely to be linked to a lack of sleep caused by using social media late at night, and that the link to depression was more pronounced in girls.

Heather Hallett says ‘superhuman’ efforts of workers were at times the only reason health service survived

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The NHS “teetered on the brink of collapse” during the Covid pandemic and only managed to survive thanks to the “superhuman” efforts of healthcare workers, an official inquiry has concluded.

In a damning assessment of how the UK’s healthcare systems dealt with the unprecedented pressure of the pandemic, the Covid-19 inquiry chair, Heather Hallett, said the impact of the virus was “devastating” due to the NHS being in a “parlous state” before the outbreak.

The NHS entered the pandemic with low bed numbers, high numbers of staff vacancies and high bed occupancy, meaning it was already in a “precarious position” and ill-prepared to deal with a pandemic.

There was not enough PPE at the start of the pandemic, meaning healthcare workers had to put themselves and their families at risk to care for patients.

Infection control in the early stages of the pandemic was flawed as it assumed Covid-19 was spread by physical contact, rather than being airborne.

The “stay home, protect the NHS, save lives” public message may have inadvertently led to a decline in hospital attendance of life-threatening emergencies such as heart attacks.

80% of healthcare professionals said they acted in a way that conflicted with their values during the pandemic, with some saying they felt they were “playing God” as they were unable to give everyone the treatment they needed.

World Happiness Report finds platforms focused on connection less harmful than algorithm-driven apps

Social media apps such as Instagram and TikTok, which encourage algorithm-driven scrolling, are worse for mental health than platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp, which prioritise social connection, according to an annual barometer of global happiness.

The World Happiness Report found excessive use of social media was causing unhappiness among young people across the world, although the impact was worse in English-speaking countries and western Europe.

Young people who received the no-strings sum when leaving care also spent less on alcohol, tobacco and drugs

The first UK trial to test the impact of unconditional cash payments on homelessness found people given £2,000 were more likely to be happier, in stable housing and had stronger relationships six months later.

The landmark study by the Policy Institute at King’s College London found that young people leaving care who were given a one-off £2,000 cash lump sum, with no strings attached, were less likely to be sofa-surfing than their peers and had a better quality of life.

Is there something different about people born between 1997 and 2012 or is it all just marketing nonsense and hysteria?

In just a few days, research has shown that gen Z like binge drinking, hold more traditional gender views, have started Chinamaxxing, prefer solo dining and believe environmental values are as important as physical attraction.

A search for the term on Google brings up millions of articles meticulously documenting every aspect of gen Z behaviour – from their finances and mental health, to their food habits and hobbies.

Global survey shows young men and boys hold more traditional views about gender roles than older generations

Almost a third of generation Z men and boys think a wife should obey her husband, according to a global survey of 23,000 people that found young men hold more traditional views about gender roles than older generations.

A third (33%) of gen Z males also said a husband should have the final word on important decisions, according to the 29-country survey, which included Great Britain, the US, Brazil, Australia and India.

Almost a quarter (24%) of gen Z males think women should not appear too independent or self-sufficient, compared with 12% of baby boomer men.

Attitudes toward sexual norms also differed sharply across generations, with 21% of gen Z males thinking a “real woman” should never initiate sex, compared with only 7% of baby boomer men.

More than half (59%) of gen Z males said men were expected to do too much to support equality, compared with 45% of baby boomer men. For women, the proportions were 41% and 30% respectively.

Thirty percent of gen Z males believed men should not say “I love you” to their friends, compared with 20% of baby boomer men and 21% of gen Z women.

Twenty-one percent of gen Z males believed that men who took part in caregiving for children were less masculine than those who did not, compared with 8% of baby boomer men and 14% of gen Z females.

Both genders felt women had more choice in dating and relationships (22%), household roles (24%) and the clothes they can wear (34%), while men were considered to have more choice in hobbies (18%) and jobs (39%).

Susan Everard says her daughter ‘added to the beauty of the world’

Sarah Everard’s mother said her daughter “added to the beauty of the world” as she paid tribute to her humour and principled nature on the five-year anniversary of her murder.

Writing for British Vogue, alongside a picture of Sarah taken at V festival for an online street style series in 2010, Susan Everard said she “loved clothes and fashion” and had “her whole life ahead of her” when the photo was taken.

With construction overwhelmingly male, Refuge says tradeswomen help survivors of abuse feel safer

One of the main challenges in maintaining the 64 homes for domestic abuse survivors run by Refuge is the reliance on a male-dominated workforce of electricians, plumbers and decorators.

“The presence of men can be distressing and could trigger past traumas for our survivors,” said Lisa Cantwell-Hope, the head of property services at the charity. “Male contractors need an escort to make our survivors feel more comfortable, and we always put a notice out to all our residents saying there will be a male presence in the building today. So it can be challenging and takes up more time.”

Despite high needs, the Merseyside borough has the most youth work ‘black holes’ of any local authority in England

• Youth work ‘black holes’ in half of all council areas in England, study finds

“I feel like I’m failing because I can’t reach everyone,” said Toni Dodd, the centre manager at Karma in the Community, a youth service in Knowsley on the outskirts of Liverpool.

“I’ll go over and get kids hanging outside the shops, bring them in, but it’s who am I not reaching? It just takes one thing and they’re on that track into crime, into drugs. There are kids going into school on ketamine. I do all I can but it’s so hard to keep it open and running, and you can’t meet the demand there is.”

Exclusive: First mapping of youth centres in decades shows poorer areas in north worst affected by cuts since 2010

• ‘We’re on a cliff edge’: the struggle to keep youth services alive in Knowsley

Almost half of all council areas in England have youth work “black holes” with few or no services despite high levels of deprivation and antisocial behaviour, analysis shows.

The first mapping in decades of youth centres across the country has revealed a nationwide crisis in youth support and significant inequality. Poorer areas in the north of England are shown to have been the worst affected by cuts to youth services since 2010.

Fewer under-25s leaving home, and older renters being priced out of ownership or solo renting, is fuelling a change in house-share demographics

When Nicola Whyte first moved into a four-bedroom house share in Balham 16 years ago, she never imagined she would still be living there at 45. But with rents soaring, and ongoing challenges in saving up for a house deposit, she has ended up as a housemate far longer than she anticipated.

“I didn’t think I was going to be here 16 years later, but I’m not unhappy,” she said. “My friends sometimes think I’m a bit weird, they ask me how I can still do it. But I really enjoy it. The rent is really reasonable, it’s close to work and I think it gives you a deeper understanding of people.”

Susan and John Letby question use of arrest footage filmed at their house in programme about daughter’s crimes

The parents of Lucy Letby have criticised the use of footage due to be aired in a new Netflix documentary about their daughter’s crimes as a “complete invasion of privacy” and said watching it would “likely kill us”.

Susan and John Letby questioned why police had released video of Letby’s arrest, which took place in the couple’s house, and said they were worried it would make their home a “tourist attraction”.

Judge says claim brought by Sex Matters should be made instead by individual who says they have faced discrimination

A legal challenge brought by a charity over transgender people’s access to single-sex facilities at swimming ponds in Hampstead Heath has failed at the high court.

Sex Matters, a UK-wide gender-critical campaign group, sought to take legal action against the City of London, which manages the bathing ponds in north London, arguing that allowing trans people to use the facilities for the gender with which they identified amounted to sex discrimination.

Giel Malual and John Kuei trekked from Dungeness to John o’Groats to raise funds for new schools in Sudan

When Giel Malual set out to walk the length of the UK to raise money to open a school for displaced children from his home country of Sudan, he did not expect the welcome he would receive from the British public.

“All the houses that we slept in, all the welcome that we were given, all the warmth and the support, the cheers and the encouragement that we have received, it has been overwhelming,” said Malual, who completed the 900-mile walk over a month with his friend John Kuei, who is also from Sudan.

Government replaces recruitment goal with plan to increase ‘education exports’ to £40bn a year by 2030

Ministers are scrapping target numbers for international students in the UK and will instead focus on encouraging universities to open hubs abroad, as part of a plan to bring British education to people “on their own doorsteps”.

The government’s new international education strategy will set a target of increasing global “education exports” to £40bn a year by 2030, replacing the previous target – set in 2019 – of recruiting 600,000 international students a year to study in the UK.

For those who have spent years trying to raise awareness, Wes Streeting’s intervention is ‘bittersweet’

When former Little Mix star Jesy Nelson announced her twins had been diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy type 1 (SMA1), a rare genetic condition that causes muscle wastage, the news quickly made front page news.

The call for SMA to be added to newborn screening sprang to national attention and the health secretary, Wes Streeting, was quick to respond, saying Nelson was “right to challenge and criticise how long it takes to get a diagnosis”.

Housing crisis reaches UK’s oldest generations as high private rents and lack of social housing hits pensioners

The housing crisis has reached the country’s oldest generations, charities have warned, with a growing number of people over the age of 60 seeking help for homelessness.

Housing charities said they had seen cases of people over-60 developing health problems from being forced to sleep in their car for months, having to sleep on camp beds in emergency shelters and seeking homelessness support even while suffering illnesses such as cancer.

Exclusive: Planners behind postwar new towns hit out at government over lack of ambition and commitment to social housing

Senior planners involved in building the country’s postwar new towns have raised concerns about the government’s new towns programme, criticising a lack of ambition and insufficient commitment to social housing.

Lee Shostak, former director of planning at Milton Keynes Development Corporation (MKDC) in the 1970s and later chair of the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA), said the current plan for the new towns may not help people who need homes the most.